Better than Nothing
by violetteacup
Summary: Korra returns from the South Pole and realizes she is less of an Avatar now than she ever was. Asami struggles to regain her footing. Tahno continues to be fabulous. Republic City is a new place to an old crowd, and not everyone manages to stay afloat. Do-overs and new territories. AU.
1. Malady I Can't Spell

"Urgh!" Korra growled through her teeth, kicking her left foot out angrily, catching the closest support of the Air Temple's entrance archway. It continued quivering weakly as she marched through to the temple, with little regard for the noise her heavy, surly stomps made on the polished wood of the temple's floors, and even less regard for the hour at which they echoed in its sparsely furnished halls.

She didn't _understand._ She had three elements functioning as a _toddler._ She came to Republic City with one measly element to go, but after returning from the South Pole she felt less competent, less in control of her bending than at any time she could remember – even with the three elements she had supposedly mastered years ago in the compound. Reaching her room, she flung herself on the bed face down and exhausted. Sweat made her clothes cling to her skin uncomfortably, and the fabric, objectively speaking, smelled; as did she, if she let herself think about it. But a change of clothes or a shower were out of the question both because she couldn't will her aching body to get back up, and the thought of seeing more water after her misery tonight was out of the question. She settled for kicking her boots off. Loudly. Korra scarcely had time to lose herself in more frustrated self-berating when a single curt knock sounded outside her door, followed immediately by a very groggy, very irritated, Tenzin.

"Korra," he began, "I'll ask you, again, to remember that this temple is my home. I don't know what you mean by causing such a commotion at this hour, but _do_ recall I happen to have three young children as well as a newborn living here, not just you."

"Sorry," she murmured without feeling, still face down on her bed. Tenzin sighed from the doorframe, placing his forehead against the wall. Both Rohan and Pema were awake now, and he doubted they would be getting their fussy infant asleep in time to get much more rest before it was time to wake again to begin their morning chores around the temple.

"I'll be expecting you extra early tomorrow for air bending practice, Korra." He said shortly before walking back down the corridor to help Pema with their youngest son, who was hopefully their only child awoken by Korra's late night tantrum.

Korra snarled at the thought of early air bending practice tomorrow. After tonight, she didn't need any more reminding what a _'half-baked'_ Avatar she really was. The thought of the clumsy earth bending, the weak fire bending, and, she groaned, the unstable water bending…she had seen children not yet potty trained do better. _She_ had done better. What was wrong with her? Yanking her hair ties loose and flipping onto her back, she half-entertained the thought that Amon had done something to her that Aang could not (would not? did not?) fully reverse. But she forced herself to admit that her short comings after returning to Republic City fell squarely on her shoulders, even if she didn't fully understand what it was exactly that was wrong. Bending always felt more natural to her than breathing, but her attempts after her visit from Aang felt foreign, invasive. Physical bending had always been her out, her fall back when she felt incompetent – sure, the spiritual stuff didn't come easy, but she always reasoned that as long as she had one part of the equation under control, maybe she could be a decent Avatar yet. Now she was left grappling ineptly at both, at a time when people were leaning on her more than ever. Korra felt near tears as she glanced outside the window in her room, trying to calm herself enough to sleep, thinking with dread about the air bending practice Tenzin mentioned in the hallway. The "extra early" air bending practice. That thought almost did push Korra over the edge in her misery, and she eventually forced herself to drift into a light, fitful sleep.

"Good morning, Korra. I think we should start with some meditation this morning." Tenzin said with malice-lined cheerfulness. Last night was not the first of Korra's late night outbursts, and he was beginning to grow irritable; his attempts to discuss the cause of her frustrations were met with bristling and moodiness. He was approaching his limit. In the aftermath of Amon and the Equalists, he was needed constantly in the city and at the Council, yet he continued to attempt to carve out time he truthfully did not have for Korra's training, to which she remained unresponsive and unappreciative. He tried to imagine the stress the young girl was under to be more understanding, but she was not a child, he told himself. And the time would come where she would have to leave his tutelage and with her current air bending skills, this was unacceptable.

"Wonderful." Korra grumbled, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes until little stars erupted underneath them. She did feel a little remorse for her behavior last night, but she was so groggy that she didn't feel competent enough to articulate this to Tenzin. Passing Pema in the hallway this morning on her way to the gazebo had been worse, seeing the puffiness around her eyes and disheveled state of her hair had distracted Korra so much with guilt that she nearly ran into the wall, but still she couldn't form a coherent apology. Instead, she ungracefully flopped to the ground and closed her eyes, hearing Tenzin do the same across from her.

"Clear your mind." Tenzin murmured; unnecessarily, Korra felt. She understood how meditation was supposed to work, even if she rarely did it right. Still, she sighed and straightened, trying to focus on the in-out of her breathing. She felt herself nodding off within moments. Tenzin cleared his throat. Grumpily, she wondered how he knew, always knew, when his eyes were closed.

It was going to be a long day.

At noon, Mako came back from town for lunch. Bolin and Asami were still caught up helping in the reconstruction efforts, but Mako promised a concerned Pema they would be back in time for dinner. Korra was grateful to be seeing less of her friends in the weeks following their trip to see Sifu Katara, though it felt horrible to admit it. They had thrown themselves into the reconstruction of the only home they ever known wholeheartedly, and it took convincing from Pema to get them back to the island for semi-regular meals and rest. But for Korra, their absence was relief; she couldn't take seeing Bolin or Mako efficiently, _effortlessly¸ _bend, leavening damaged roads or soldering salvageable metals, even Asami coolly and confidently directing the reconstruction of phone lines or the repairs of police vehicles was irksome. As Korra nibbled at her rice, she felt immature sitting beside Mako, who was actively helping Republic City much better than its Avatar could – who she was beginning to resent for it.

As they began clearing up from lunch, Mako placed a hand on Korra's shoulder, intended to be comforting, no doubt, but to her it felt clammy. She shook it off as gently as possible with a tight grin, and he didn't follow her into the kitchen. The joy at getting her bending back at the South Pole lasted until she returned to Republic City and discovered how limited and unfamiliar it was; and as she scrubbed at the dishes in the kitchen sink, Korra began to realize how strained her relationship (was it one, really?) with Mako had become as a result. She didn't know what they became, exactly, when he found her after Aang's visit, they were both too giddy with relief to actually talk about it, but upon their return to Republic City…they were definitely something different now. Weren't they? They felt different. _She_ felt different, at the very least, about nearly everything.

By the time her dishes were cleaned and placed in their proper cabinets, Korra had almost steeled herself to talk to him about it when she heard from the next room over Jinora and Meelo say goodbye to both Mako and their father, who would spend the rest of the day in the city working with the council to make repairs of his own. Exhaling in relief, and with her air bending training officially done for the day in the absence of her teacher, Korra finally decided to relent on her decision the night before and shower before beginning another fruitless night of trying to get her other bending back to where it was before.

She avoided leaving the Air Temple when at all possible. The resultant feeling from walking around Republic City for even an hour, seeing effective bending being done around her combined with feeling the hopeful, _admiring_, glances from passersby, bender and non-bender alike, made her insides knot uncomfortably. Korra was not used to self-doubt, and as she walked into the police station the next afternoon, she concerned herself with acting as normal, as confident, as possible. The last thing the city needed was a moping Avatar in addition to an inept one.

"Beifong!" She called out in the station's foyer, waving. "How's it going?"

"Korra," the police chief greeted, "we've been missing you out here. Has Tenzin been holing you up on that island practicing air bending that hard?" Beifong had been softer than usual in dealing with Korra after she returned her bending in the South Pole, and Korra was grateful; Beifong was queen of condescension, and Korra didn't think on top of everything she could handle disproval from such a tough woman who she had truthfully come to admire.

"Sort of." Korra gave a noncommittal shrug. She paused, then added, "Some of it might be self-imposed…"she trailed off, suddenly deciding this was not the person, place, or time to discuss her admittedly erratic behavior and worries.

"Is that right." Beifong only paused a moment longer than necessary, before deciding to not push the subject. She continued, "Well, seeing as you're here now, I know Bolin has been working with the shops to the east of here, maybe four streets over, Asami is downstairs working on the grids with some of my officers, Ma-"

"What about the hospital?" Korra interjected with strained eagerness. "I'm sure they could use some extra hands, right?" Sure, she thought to herself, her healing would be slow and awkward, certainly not up to her previous standards, but she would be alone, hopefully with non-bending nurses who wouldn't be able to tell the difference, and it was better to have her incompetence _available_ than not, right? She thought of her practice the night before with her water bending forms; she was maladroit, yes, but…but she was better than nothing at all.

"Well, it's been about a month since it happened, the majority of the injuries, especially the serious ones where your talent would be necessary, are dwindling…" Beifong's cadence was cautious, slow, and vaguely confused. "Were you hoping to go there for any…particular reason?"

"I just know there aren't many healers who've been trained personally by Sifu Katara, Beifong." Korra said flatly. She only _partially_ wanted to avoid her friends; she really did want to practice an ability somewhat unique to her, to grasp some kind of control, thinking maybe healing practice would improve her dexterity, and just maybe, she thought, would help with the precision so clearly lacking from her other bending. It was unfair, Korra felt, for Beifong to immediately assume she was motivated by something other than an honest desire to help.

"I'll go find Bolin." Korra tossed an evasive hand over her shoulder as she turned towards the door and left Beifong staring warily at her back.

She had left Naga at the island, deciding she would draw less attention that way, and, she reasoned, less resultant inquiries about her health, her bending, the city, and a slew of other things she didn't want to think about, much less discuss with strangers. But as she began weaving her way through the numerous street detours, she thought maybe it would have been worth the questions if it would have gotten her through the maze of streets faster. After a twenty-five minute trek that should have lasted about five, she found herself facing several White Lotus earth benders and even, she noted with mild surprise, a scarce few metal benders in police uniforms working on the roads and structural supports of a popular row of shops damaged by Equalist attacks, Bolin among them.

Walking closer to Bolin's figure, hunched over with the effort of his bending, she began to appreciate in a new way his confident form and efficiency; she waited a few moments watching him bend before finally calling out. Or slapping him on the back. Whichever.

"Oof! Korra what are you doing here?" His grin was wide and easy as ever, and he punched her arm good-naturedly in return. "Finally decide to leave Vegetarian Island?" He finished covering the seam of his bending in the road in front of them and she shrugged.

"What are police metal benders doing here? I thought they would all be with Beifong."

Bolin's chest swelled slightly. "Oh, she just let the Masterful Bolin direct their efforts on this street…you know how it goes." He winked, and Korra was slightly surprised – one of the reasons Beifong was such an effective police chief was her control of the officers, and their reciprocal dedication. It was almost out of character for her to allow them to be directed by someone else, much less someone who was not in the force to begin with.

"Way to go, Bolin." She grinned, and she meant it. "Care to help direct me?"

He looked around sheepishly. "We were just about to break for lunch…" Korra's brow puckered slightly, but then Bolin perked. "Hey! Want to go to Narook's? We haven't had noodles together since before-" Bolin abruptly stopped himself, looking mortified.

Objectively, noodles did sound delicious on her empty stomach (she woke too late for breakfast at the temple this morning, up late again working on pitifully basic katas), and she allowed that maybe it was time for her to stop hiding from her friends; she felt guilty for how on edge Bolin seemed. If she was scared of her friends, what did that mean of the bigger, legitimately malevolent things that were certainly waiting for her?

"Noodles…would be good." Bolin seemed almost taken aback by her consent, but recovered quickly, beaming.

"Awe-some! I've worked up an appetite…you know…_directing_."

"Whatever you say, Oh Masterful Director Sir."

Narook's was on the side of town least damaged, on the northeastern arc of Republic City furthest from Yue Bay. Although Narook himself would never admit it, the Equalist showdown had done wonders for his business, and he was privately happy about it. Before the southernmost and western edge of Republic City had been near demolished, his only real source of income had been a close knit community of Northern Water Tribe transplants and Bolin. Since most of the more popular restaurants in town were still being reconstructed, his eatery had become a hub of Metalbenders (mostly on Bolin's recommendation) and other volunteers, as well as Republic City citizens from the shoreline, even though they had to take a rather long, detour riddled train ride to get here. Narook wanted to believe it was his authentic noodles and secret seasonings that kept them coming – (he had always insisted they were the city's best kept secret) – but in the back of his mind he had to admit it was more likely for the company and relative normalcy the undamaged scenery provided them. Or the 15% discount he'd implemented on the whole menu in the aftermath in a clumsy attempted show of goodwill.

Korra herself felt the same kind of ease when she entered, still laughing at Bolin's animated reenactment of his trip to the coastline the week before, when a lobster turtle inadvertently wound up in a metal-benders uniform, where it was stuck for several minutes while said bender scrambled to get it out, eventually tumbling into the water (with some aid of a nearby waterbender). Bolin sat at a table near the door without so much as a glance to the bar Narook stood behind with practiced familiarity, and Korra wondered vaguely just how often Bolin came here since returning from the South Pole, even more so when Narook appeared several minutes later with two bowls of noodles topped with sea prunes without bothering to take their orders.

"So, what have you been doing on Vegetarian Island, exactly?" Bolin slurped through his noodles. "I dunno about Asami or my brother but I could definitely use another set of hands, I think the roads that need help are multiplying in my sleep."

Korra shrugged. She had been grateful that bending hadn't been a central topic of discussion on her way here. She looked down to her own bowl and hoped that Bolin would get her hesitation and drop it.

Naturally, he didn't.

"I mean, what better way to practice being the Avatar than…being the Avatar?!" He grinned, waving for another bowl. "Helping the needy, restoring balance, installing drywall...it's the job description, yeah?"

Korra grimaced so hard Bolin asked her if her noodles were cold. "No, they're delicious. It's just…I'm…working on some kinks in my airbending. You know how long it took me to unlock it in the first place, and Tenzin thinks it might have more to do with my panic than my," she lowered her voice in an attempt to copy her teacher's tone "_true understanding of the art._" It wasn't a total lie, her airbending had been erratic since she first unlocked it with Amon; sometimes she could manage small puffs, others were as fruitless as her first night in Republic City. But Tenzin had also encouraged her to get out of the temple more, perhaps if only to ensure peaceful naptimes for his children and overworked wife.

"Well," Bolin chewed thoughtfully, "you went without airbending for so long, and the city is still…I mean, you see it. Tenzin sees it. Why can't it wait just a little longer while you put your other bending to use helping us out? Then you can really focus on it!" Bolin brightened considerably at the end, like he had just solved a particularly hard algebra problem. Korra, for her part, felt like she took an earth disk to the gut. Her other bending. Bolin was blissfully ignorant of the effect his words had and she was reminded briefly of why she agreed to go on a date with him in the Pro-Bending Arena weeks ago, and almost remorseful it couldn't work out. She swallowed a mouthful of noodles and pretended that the lie coming out of her mouth didn't sting its way up her throat.

"I'll…talk to Tenzin about it, I guess."

The gavel echoed in the Council's chamber, and Tenzin pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to stop the coming migraine. Korra was not going to be happy about this.

**I don't own LOK, or canon would be much different. **

**Please review if you have time, this is my first story I've shared and I'd love feedback!**


	2. Open Water

Asami Sato hadn't felt much at all when she originally offered her father's warehouses and storage buildings to the city as emergency shelter for those whose homes had been compromised during the final showdown with Amon. It seemed only natural to offer these unused spaces, like collecting spare or outgrown coats and gloves for the homeless in the winter. But as her flat, well-worn black boots padded softly through the maze of sleeping bags, cots, and the occasional snoring body, she wondered if it didn't seem obnoxious; these places still had remnants of Future Industries and the Sato family – of her father, not her, _not her, _she sharply corrected herself – and she could only imagine it to be a constant reminder of what they lost and why. Pulling a small key out of her pocket to unlock the office she had arrived in front of, she couldn't honestly tell if she was still thinking of the people in the larger workspace she had just came from or about herself. It certainly felt to her now self-conscious and clumsy, a bandage on a third degree burn.

She slipped quietly into the unlit room like she was afraid to disturb its nonexistent inhabitant and seriously considered locking the door behind her and curling up under the desk for the night. And the next night. And the nights that followed forever. Asami had been genuinely grateful, especially after her father's initial betrayal, for the seemingly boundless courtesy the Air Temple showed her; she could roundhouse kick a man four times her size across a schoolyard, but she had never found herself able to boil rice properly. But there were times she thought about risking it, just to be _alone_.

She peeked in the desk drawers distractedly. Reaching into the top-left drawer, she grabbed a framed picture and shoved it without a glance into her bag, gnawing at her lip. When had he taken it off the desk?

She couldn't go back to the island now. She was sure she couldn't handle it. The thought of smiling through Pema's or, spirits forbid, _Mako's_ ham-handed prodding about her health or her _feelings_ was unbearable. She had promised, earlier in the day, to be back for dinner, but the longer she stayed at the Temple, she found she was growing more uncomfortable, rather than relaxed, with the Airbender family and their guests. She stayed in the dank basement of the police building for much longer than necessary to avoid going back for meal times, which she had early on discovered were always a family affair. She had made a show of going to each of her father's warehouses and storage buildings after Beifong all but forced her out of said basement, to "collect his pictures and other family belongings," but half of it, if she was honest, was just limiting her time spent at the Temple to bare minimum. This was her last stop, but she was having a difficult time crafting reasons to catch the next ferry.

She had promised earlier, but Asami figured it was about time she started going back on her promises too.

As far as Air Temple dinners went, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Jinora held a book discreetly in her lap, occasionally missing her mouth with her chopsticks when she became too engrossed, Ikki and Meelo were cheering as Bolin and Mako recounted, with no shortage of embellishments, Pro Bending stories, and Tenzin and Pema spoke as quietly and unconcerned with their surroundings as if they were alone in the Zen garden. Korra did ask, when she and Bolin finally returned from town, where Asami was, but Pema was too distracted preparing dinner to offer an adequate answer, and Mako shrugged her off to shower before dinner. "I'm sure she'll be back when she's done with whatever she's doing."

She chewed her steamed vegetables slowly, almost as indifferent to her surroundings as Tenzin and Pema. Korra hadn't been a good friend to her – she was tempted to say _lately_ but she couldn't really say if she ever put in the effort with Asami to begin with. Asami had only ever been kind to Korra, even after she realized Korra had feelings for Mako. Korra couldn't say the same for her own behavior, and especially now that they returned from the South Pole, she couldn't recall having a real conversation with her, or even asking how her father was, how she was handling being the daughter of a traitor to the city now that his side lost.

"Is everyone finished?" Pema's voice brought Korra back to Earth, and she hastily finished swallowing her vegetables, rising with Pema to begin clearing the table.

"Korra, I need to speak with you privately." Tenzin's words were carefully measured; his face free of any furrows or creases, and Korra felt her stomach drop uncomfortably. That had never meant anything good.

"But Daddy didn't you say secrets were bad?" Ikki's lilting voice came from behind a stack of dirty bowls making their way unevenly towards the kitchen.

"I also said that china was a gift from King Bumi to my father and to be very careful with it." He responded, deftly taking half of the stack and passing it to Bolin before gesturing towards Korra. She grimaced, wanting Pema to desperately need her help clearing up, but as she exited the dining area after her teacher, Pema continued clearing up cheerfully, pausing only to snap Mako's attention to the tea cups perilously close to falling in his distracted hands.

"Uh…what's this about, Tenzin? I'm sure we could have talked in front of everyone." They were making their way outside, and when they reached the railing of the walkway connecting the main house to the temple, he rested his forearms tiredly against it.

"The Council has made a decision that you are not going to be happy with, Korra. I'm going to ask you, before I begin, to let me finish and stay calm." She nodded slowly.

"When you first came back, you returned the bending of Bei Fong's metalbenders and of the White Lotus both out of immediate necessity to help rebuild the city, and their personal connection to you. The Council, since seeing your ability, has been planning to make other use of it." He stopped himself there, glancing at his student out of the corner of his eye. Her brows were puckered, but she didn't look angry. She hadn't gotten there herself yet.

"If this is about returning other people's bending, I don't know why you're making a big deal about it. I was planning to once – " She stopped and chewed the inside of her cheek. "Once the city was in better…shape….But if that's that case I should have done it before, all the extra benders could have been helpful." She had been so caught up in criticizing her own newly subpar skills that she totally forgot about anyone else. Hot shame washed over her. Tenzin, the Council, they were all just waiting on her to figure it out on her own. Because she was the Avatar and she should know better, because she should be thinking about other people besides herself.

"The Council would have stopped you." Tenzin sounded far away.

"What? Wh –"

"They only just finished the list today, and if you had tried before to restore a non-approved –"

"A _what._" Korra interjected flatly.

"The Council has decided that, to prevent the bending – related crime that we struggled with before Amon, among other things, only approved persons should have their bending restored."

Tenzin was very glad he had the foresight to move the conversation outside when Korra split the walkway underneath her feet into splinters, jagged pieces of earth peeking through the floorboards.

Asami had been young when her mother died, but she wasn't without memories of her. For example, though alcohol was sometimes served at business dinners at the Sato estate, Meiko watched her husband and guests' intake with the intensity of one of the family's guard dogs. She was a lady, and would not lower herself or the family's house workers to babysit a drunkard. She had told Asami and Hiroshi as much regularly.

So Asami had never drank, even as she came of age and class conscious boy after class conscious boy tripped over themselves to get her a glass at Quom's, at her father's New Year's party, at the VIP section of the pro-bending arena. But it was getting late, and as regular eateries were closing around her, the only available options seemed to be Republic City's bars and taverns. Not that this meant she would have to drink, Asami knew, but her positive experiences with inebriated men ranged at zero.

But Air Temple Island was not an option. So she kept pace to one of the city's nicer districts, eyes forward, and thought back to the first time she flipped a man at least twice her size (her karate teacher, Jin) over her shoulder when she was twelve. It made her stand a little taller as she walked into Chouza's, right hand resolutely gripping at the shoulder of her handbag.

The place was only at half capacity, Asami noted as she walked towards the bar, many would be patrons probably still too busy or exhausted with reconstruction to spend the night at a bar. But, she mused as she propped herself up on a barstool, maybe that was the exact reason the current customers were here.

The middle aged bartender walked over to where she sat, light brown hair pulled back into a plait at the nape of his neck. "Can I help you?"

"Water, please." Asami answered distractedly, examining the condition and cleanliness of the establishment to decide if she would actually be drinking the water she just ordered.

"It takes a special person to come into a bar for water," drawled idly from her left.

"A thirsty one?" She sighed, prepared to move to avoid what was sure to be a night full of drunken come-ons when the voice two seats to her left swiveled to face her fully.

"Are you expecting someone to buy you something else or do you need somewhere to be that's not where you're supposed to be?"

She blinked as the bartender quietly set her glass in front of her. A niggling sense of familiarity….She turned her head to assess him further, brows furrowed.

"I know you."

"I didn't know you were in my fan club too. I'm honored, really." He half-raised his own glass in her direction. "Hate it wasn't enough to keep you from the ferret."

"You were a Wolfbat." The waterbender. Her brows relaxed, watching his mouth turn up at the corner as he took a sip of his drink.

"A-oooooo," he winked, setting his glass down and stretching his arms above his head and a thick cap of wavy black hair, with impressive sideswept bangs that were longer than hers, though not as shiny. It made her feel inexplicably good. Until-

"I…know he took your bending. I'm sorry."

Why would she even bring that up? She felt her own eyes widen, though his face was kept neutral in a way far too flat to be actually impassive.

"I mean…I watched you. You were amazing, and it's a shame, or, I guess I just…it's not fair."

She was an idiot.

"I'm sorry, I don't – I'm not even a bender, so I know I can't…" she paused. "I'm going." Hell, wasn't it partly her father's fault he couldn't bend anymore? She had no right. She was turning into a stuttering fool that Asami was _not,_ too off-balance trying to avoid that minefield herself to bring it up with a –

The man's head hit the bar with a loud _clunk_, shoulders shaking visibly as a hand snaked its way up to his face to muffle his audible, harsh laughter.

Asami rose to her feet instantly. He was making a fool out of her. Blood rising splotchily to the high points of her cheeks, she turned on her heel to make her exit. Asami Sato would not be humiliated by a strange man in a bar.

"Woah, Tiger Lily! No need to run off like a brat."

"What did you call me?" She hissed, knuckles white on her bag's strap. He was quite lean, she would have no problem swinging him through the window behind the bar.

"Tiger Lily? Brat?" He offered, chuckling, chin propped on the palm of an open hand now. "No one's ever tried to be that politically correct before, you know. "

If she left now, where could she go?

"It's not my fault I couldn't handle your high class manners."

She would risk it.

"I don't know why you're acting like it was your fault."

She was already walking away when Asami heard a loud crack, and was, in retrospect, unsure if it was a blood vessel in her brain or her clenched fist on the bar as she turned around to face him.

"Because it _is._"

Korra was livid. She thought back to the boat ride to the South Pole, removed from her bending, from the water silently slicing up the sides of the boat beside her. To _last night_, when she couldn't produce any air apart from the heavy, frustrated puffs coming out of her scowling mouth.

"That…that's not their place! That's not my place! We can't decide – "

"Are we really better off with Lightning Bolt Zolt on our streets?" Tenzin placated. He wasn't in agreement with the Council's decision, but it was a decision that was already made. "He terrorized our benders and nonbenders alike. What did you say that woman told you when Tarrlok put them under curfew?"

"I'm their Avatar too." Korra answered wearily. Tenzin wasn't wrong, Zolt did awful things. But…"but it's not right," she added more firmly. "How do they decide who's 'worthy' of getting back what they were born with? What they worked for?" She looked up at her teacher, but his gaze was trained towards the bay.

"I knew you'd feel this way. But I don't know there's anything we can do now, Korra. Republic City needs a united front. Neither you or the Council is enough right now."

"I'll show them 'not enough,'" Korra grunted, biting angrily at the inside of her cheek. She needed a plan. She would not be a political tool again.

Tenzin looked over at his father's fuming reincarnation. Aang would have protested too, he thought. But talking to her more would only rile his student to a point of no return, and he worried his wife would soon break at her lack of uninterrupted sleep. Further discussion tonight was risking another late night solo 'training' session that would wake his family in the early hours of the morning. He wouldn't push it further.

"The Council hasn't been hasty until this point, and they aren't likely to start moving at a frenzied pace now that they've made a decision. They'll try to keep the appearance of stability and control for the public. There's no need to panic or rush into action ourselves. Rest on it for tonight. Perhaps meditate on it; the past Avatars were an invaluable resource to Aang." He put a square, paternal hand on her shoulder. He was mildly curious himself what his father would say. "Maybe instead of your usual nighttime…training?" He added delicately.

**I don't own LOK, or canon would be much different.**

**Please review if you have time, this is the first story I've shared and I'd love feedback!**


	3. Sink but Not Drown

Tahno leaned back in his seat, trying to put distance between his face and the heiress' fist, trembling lightly on the bar. He felt the neck-prickling gazes of some of the bar-goers closest to them and cringed. This was not the attention he enjoyed. He put his hands up, palms facing her, opening his mouth to speak when she flung herself in the seat closest to him, palm and forearm flat on the bar top as she leaned close, facing him squarely. He caught a light whiff of old leather and jasmine before she launched into him, almost hissing through her teeth.

"It is my fault I didn't notice a _secret factory_ under my house, that I never noticed my father was a traitor that was hurting people _every day_ and I couldn't do anything to bring him back, and I feel _horrible enough_ about it without you making it worse acting like it's _not a_ _big deal_."

Her lipstick hadn't smudged at all, and he was incredibly impressed, meaning of her words notwithstanding. He waited a half beat before answering.

"What could you have done even if you knew? He invented killing machines in his spare time and if gossip serves me correctly, which it _always does_, he used his own daughter's fledgling sexual forays with firebenders who shall remain nameless to cover his tracks. It's not like he'd listen to reason, even from you."

Her breathing was still heavy, but her eyes had dimmed a little, not quite as urgently angry.

"But why? Why wouldn't he listen to me?" Her inquiry was so sincere he was grappling in his brain for an answer when she spoke again.

"Is it really okay for you to talk to me?"

A gust of air flapped through his lips exasperatedly, blowing a raspberry as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what you think I've been doing these past few months, Tiger Lily. Wallowing in despair and self-pity?"

Her face very clearly said _yes_ but she diplomatically sipped her previously untouched drink instead of speaking. Her lipstick was still in place. His upper lip curled.

"Tch."

"…What have you been doing?" Her voice was small and curious, eyes cooled completely now but her brows still tense. Was she trying to torture herself with details? He sighed. At least the other customers weren't gawking anymore.

"Spreading literacy. Ending poverty and hunger. Assisting the elderly at cross walks, et cetera."

"So I was right about the wallowing." She said glumly.

Tahno balked. He choked on his drink. He sent her a look to freeze lava. _This woman._

_._

Naga's breathing was steady and calming, furry ribs pressed warm and close to her thigh. Her best friend's weight and the soft tug she felt in her core in tandem with the tide crashing at the Cliffside she sat on, Korra felt more at peace than she had at weeks, despite what she had just learned. She pet Naga's sleeping form absently, eyes on the reflection of the moon in the water below, distorting its fullness with the tides. She had come here to meditate, like Tenzin suggested after he left her outside the temple some half hour ago, though she found it predictably useless.

Korra felt a cramp dig low in her abdomen. Aside from _that_, she felt more at peace than she had in weeks, she amended to herself. It was a strange feeling of obvious physical discomfort coupled with a sense of connectedness and _power_, and she noticed the latter only got more pressing at night. She wished, when her first cycle came to her, for someone she could ask more about it: was this feeling normal for all female waterbenders? For all female Avatars? She had been too embarrassed at the time to ask Katara, the only one who could possibly answer her. And she could hardly connect spiritually with Aang, just one Avatar before her, much less go back three to ask Kiyoshi, the only other female Avatar in recent memory.

It was her third day, right in the middle of her cycle, and as she walked to the stables to fetch Naga and lead them both Cliffside, she had dimly hoped it would make connecting with her past selves easier. She was left sorely disappointed.

Naga twitched in her sleep. Korra stretched out beside her, cramp ebbing slightly, and she gazed absently at the moon, debating spending the night here instead of trekking back to the girl's dormitories.

_Wait._ The Moon.

_Yue. _

_Sifu Katara told her that Yue had come to Sokka as the Moon Spirit during their travels, and Korra felt justified in thinking Sokka was almost as spiritually challenged as she was. She sat up abruptly, startling her companion awake. She had never thought to try communicating with anyone besides her past incarnations. Korra gaped openly at the moon now, setting her mouth into a firm line, crossing her legs and bringing her two closed fists together, though her eyes remained open and upward._

_She didn't know what came next. If she couldn't even talk to – _

_No. She could do this. This felt __right._

_Eyes drifting shut, she tried to pull from her lower abdomen, where she wasn't cramping anymore but still felt the steady rhythm of the tide, tried to stretch that feeling, that awareness, up her spine, through her limbs._

_The air __whooshed__ out of Korra's lungs sharply, but she was grinning. There, before her control snapped. She had seen it, felt a presence on the perimeter of her strained sentience._

_She straightened and tried again._

Mako was not patient by nature, he was patient by practice. Before his parents' deaths, he was far more impulsive than his short-sighted younger brother, and a hothead to boot. But adult responsibility had cooled his childish impulses considerably; he found himself becoming "Cool Under Fire Mako" not soon after he was on the street. Still, it always felt a little phony, even after years of biting his tongue to keep himself from itching out of his skin.

But he could handle it, because he had to.

Not that Korra helped in this effort. He watched her stretch out beside Naga on the Cliffside from the window of his and Bolin's room and felt the familiar itch under his skin, the itch she inspired like nothing else. Mako was not oblivious; he knew Korra had been studiously avoiding him. Cool Under Fire Mako said to give her space. She had a lot of responsibility since returning to Republic City, he reasoned, and was likely overwhelmed. This logic still didn't stop him from approaching Pema the day before, pink eared and awkward, asking about Korra's health, to which she smiled enigmatically and said something about nature and patience.

"Whatcha looking at, bro?"

"Hn? Oh, uh, the moon." He answered dully.

"Is it still up there?"

Mako didn't answer at first, then turned to face his little brother, sitting shirtless on his bed, scratching a snoozing Pabu's ears. He had grown to look a lot like their dad.

"Hey, Bo?"

Bolin focused on him curiously.

"You know…after that firebender attacked us…I never wanted to bend again. I wanted it to go away forever." He paused, watching his brother blink slowly.

"What changed?"

"I realized I could use it to protect you." Mako stopped. They usually avoided talking about their parents' deaths as a rule, and his brother was openly bemused. Bolin looked on the verge of speech, and Mako quickly interrupted, suddenly self-conscious.

"I'm heading out for a walk."

Then again, Cool Under Fire Mako hadn't started his relationship with Korra in the first place, why start playing level-headed now?

"I'll have you know," Tahno sniffed, "that _some_ of us are not so emotionally stunted as to re-live our traumas forever, displaying them on a would-be aesthetically appealing canvas like a beacon for all of the Republic to see play out like a daytime radio drama."

Asami bit the inside of her cheek. That didn't feel fair. "I'll have _you _know, that I have been more than _fine_, until I had the misfortune of thinking I could sit at a bar in peace, like every other patron is," She made a vague motion to the tables to her right, "not knowing there were Wolfbats with overactive imaginations ready and waiting to project their own psychological problems on others." There.

Tahno rolled his eyes, throwing an arm over his eyes with great bravado. "That was the worst, most transparently lame retort ever. Could you be anymore _not fine_?" He waved his glass at the bartender at the other end of the bar, chatting happily with a dark-skinned man in water-tribe clothing.

It seemed very important to Asami to convince Tahno that she was fine, though. "Oh? And you get to be the judge of psychological soundness because?"

Tahno just grunted as the bartender topped his glass off with an amber colored liquid, and then jerked his thumb in her direction. "She'll be needing some too, Chouza. Or else I might not be able to take it anymore."

Asami slapped him on the shoulder hard enough to make him nearly fall off his seat. "Who do you think you are?" But a matching drink appeared before her anyway, as the bartender hurried back to the man from water-tribe.

"I don't drink. I won't be paying for that."

"I'm shocked that an heiress would be so cheap."

"You're about to be shocked by how strong an heiress' fist is."

She was quite satisfied when Tahno grimaced instantly, tensing like he was ready for a blow. "Oh no, I've already heard quite a bit about that."

"You…you have?"

"I heard you are secretly a moose lion transplanted into a deceptively slim girl's body. Some science experiment gone wrong or something." Tahno replied flatly, looking first at the drink in front of her than at her face expectantly.

"I don't consider myself very generous, and you've made it clear you're too stingy to let even a few ryo fall out of your heiress bank account, so do a pauper a favor and not let a gift go to waste."

Asami pushed the drink towards him, reiterating that she didn't drink, but stayed sitting at the bar for the next two and a half hours while he finished first his drink, then hers.

**I don't own LOK, or canon would be much different.**

**Please review if you have time, this is the first story I've shared and I'd love feedback!**


	4. Hit Harder

Her control was shaky, but _she had done it._ Even with her eyes squeezed shut in concentration, Korra felt the new presence before her.

"Avatar Korra. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

She almost didn't open her eyes in fear of her focus snapping, but was very glad she decided to risk it. Looking at Yue was very different than looking at Aang; she was instantly aware that she was looking at a _being_, and not a human. Yue was washed in monochrome, layers of soft ivory that didn't feel entirely opaque, her voice was felt more than heard. And as she moved to sit across from Korra, the fabric of her robes was silent. Beside her, Naga sniffed the air once, but laid her head back down disinterestedly.

"Yue…it's great to meet _you_! I can't believe it, Sifu Katara has told me so much about-! I can't believe I managed to contact you!" Even as she said it, Korra felt something quiver at her core like it was about to break; she took a deep breath to steady herself. "It's an honor." Korra finished bashfully.

"I can't help but notice you are conflicted. May I help you?" Yue offered serenely, lips barely upturned. Korra should have suspected Yue knew why she had been contacted. She didn't have much personal experience to draw from when it came to spirits, but Aang seemed to always know what was going on in her life, even if he didn't have much success getting through to her to give his advice.

"…I don't know what I'm supposed to do. What the right thing is. I know the bending triads were bad, I know they caused trouble for everyone, but it's not my place to decide who can have their bending back, it's not the Council's decision. Is it? They were born with abilities for a reason, they were…I know what it's like to be removed from your bending, it's like you're not even whole, like you lost a sense or a limb. I can't do that to other people, aren't I supposed to help? What if it's not just the Triads anyway? How do they even decide?" She felt herself getting worked up, anxiety coiling up tight in her belly, breaths coming quick and shallow. Korra forced herself to do some of the lighter breathing exercises Tenzin had taught her.

"You are an empathetic person. Of course the thought of hurting others bothers you." Yue paused. "However, you also see some shreds of logic in the Council's decision, and it bothers your sense of responsibility as the Avatar." She smoothed a soundless hand over an imagined wrinkle in the robes at her knee, eyes lowered. "You are looking for me to affirm the decision you've already made, are you not?"

Korra frowned. "I…" What would she do if Yue told her to follow the Council's orders? Korra hadn't even considered it.

"I guess so. Is it…do you think it's better to do what the Council says?"

Then a familiar masculine voice from behind her shattered her concentration, and her connection to Yue was lost, leaving Korra exhausted, confused, and _angry._

"Korra what are you doing out here?"

"I _was_ busy." She snapped, not even turning to face Mako, rubbing her hands roughly over her sweaty face. She was so close!

She heard Mako huff behind her before slinging himself down beside her, jaw clenched.

"Yeah you _looked_ busy." She felt apprehension clench in the muscles of her tired body. He wanted to _talk_. She briefly considered flinging herself off the Cliffside, but quickly dismissed the notion, worried he might try to follow out of a sense of disfigured duty. No, she would have Naga pin him down while she hid herself in the pantry closet, she was hungry anyway.

Chouza's was slowly clearing out, and eventually only Asami, Tahno, and a snoozing woman in the corner booth were left. Chouza was looking none too subtly between the remaining patrons and the man in water tribe garb, who he had long since moved to sit next to, clearly wanting to shut up shop for the night for some privacy. Tahno, however, was utterly unfazed, drumming his fingers on his empty glass and _tsk_ing away Asami's assertion that _Republic General_, the radio soap that came on at noon, was somehow superior to its one o'clock successor, _Guiding Spirits_.

"It's more popular for a reason! They play it at noon so everyone can listen on their lunch breaks, it's obviously better at scene setting." She persisted.

"They play it at noon to appease the masses of philistines who can't appreciate the layers of plot and character development in _Guiding Spirits_. It's fodder."

Chouza began clearing tables pointedly. Asami forced down a sudden wave of something that felt close to hysteria. She would not go back to the Temple in the early hours of the morning, smelling like a bar. She would not explain herself tonight. The estate? She had the power cut off last week, and was unsure if she could face it yet. She pulled her bag onto her lap and peered in her wallet, fully ignoring Tahno's analysis of one of the soap's subplots. She had enough for a hotel, she was sure, but which - ?

"That wasn't rude or anything. Are you conceding defeat?" He snipped, crossing his legs.

"How much do hotels cost?"

"Why would you need a hotel, aren't you staying with the Goon Squad? Did you get kicked out for bad behavior?" He was looking at her strangely.

"I…" _I don't want to talk about it._

"You won't be able to find one anyway." Tahno said, standing up suddenly and stretching. "They're still booked up with people whose houses are messed up and the foreigners who came to help." He paused, and she thought he looked quite self-conscious before he suddenly exhaled sharply. "Look, you can stay at my – "

Asami stood quickly. They were almost the same height "I am not one of your fans."

"I didn't mean like _that._" He snarled, pulling several ryo out of his wallet and tossing them on the bar. "I'm not interested in you, though that might be hard for you to accept."

"You're one to talk!" She fired back, stepping away from her seat.

"Whatever. You obviously don't want to go back. Do what you want."

She chewed her lip as he turned on his heel. Asami was more than confident that she could beat Tahno's angled face to Ba Sing Se and back, but that didn't mean she felt comfortable on his turf. Still, she was reconsidering her earlier desire to be alone.

"Do you want to come see the estate?"

She knew her way around the emergency generator, it had more than enough for just one night. And if she wasn't left to her own devices, she could probably ignore where she was. He had helped her with that so far.

_One night._

Tahno stopped abruptly and didn't face her for several seconds, shoulders tight. Then he whipped around, smirking, arm gestured towards the door.

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Have I done something wrong?"

"No, Mako." Korra answered dully, angling her body away from him and towards Naga.

"You've been ignoring me."

"I've been _busy_. I'm the _Avatar_."

"I thought you were my girlfriend too." Mako snarled, raking a hand agitatedly through his hair. What did she want him to do? He should have asked Bolin for advice before he left, he had much more experience dealing with girlfriend problems. He felt fully lost now, unable to read the signals Korra was sending. They had barely spoke since getting back to Republic City and immersing themselves in reconstruction, what could he have said to make her this angry? Or was he supposed to have tried harder to get her to break down her wall and just _talk_ to him?

Korra sighed, leaning against her pet fully now. This wasn't how she pictured her night going, much less how she imagined this particular conversation, but things weren't going according to her plans much lately anyway.

"About that…" Korra sighed, fiddling with the worn furs at her waist. "Look, Mako, you know how I feel about you. But I'm having…I'm not feeling like myself since I got back from visiting with Katara."

"Then let me help you! I've been trying, but I swear you're standoffish as a boar-q-pine."

"Listen, I've got a lot on my plate right now, forgive me for not being all roses all the time!" She said hotly. "I've got more responsibility than you can understand – "

"Than _I_ can understand? I've been taking care of Bolin since – "

"It's not the same!"

"How would you know? _Everyone_ is always trying to look out for _you,_ Avatar Korra! Stupid me included - "

"Looking out for me?" Korra was standing now. _Tarrlok, the Council, keeping her locked in the compound for _sixteen_ years…_"They're using me! They're in my way!"

Mako shot to his feet.

"Quit acting like a brat!"

"_You_ quit acting like a jerk! Leave me alone!"

"No, wait," Mako was equally furious and panicked as Korra roused her four legged companion.

"I need a break. From you. From everyone. Don't come after me."

She hitched herself onto Naga's back and dug her heels into her furry sides, hearing Mako step forwards. She shot a whip fire behind her, barely turning her head. It was weaker than she was capable of, but it was larger than she had managed in weeks. She couldn't even be happy about it, and it only made her madder. He leapt backwards, stunned.

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" Mako yelped at her retreating back, feet rooted to the ground beneath him.

It took a lot of self-restraint to not launch himself out the window and intervene when he saw Korra unleash her bending at Mako, but Bolin knew appearing would have only embarrassed his older brother and enraged his friend further, even as his arms started to brace his weight on the sill for the jump. Once he established that Mako would be standing there in a daze for some time, he turned towards Pabu, sitting on his nightstand, mouth incredibly dry. For his part, Pabu squeaked obediently and hopped to settle himself around Bolin's neck.

He had grown out of his affection for Korra some time ago (though certainly not as quickly as he put on for her and Mako's sakes), but Bolin still considered her his best friend, second only to his brother. When they returned from the South Pole, he threw himself into reconstructing the city with such fervor partly because he thought it would be inspiring to Korra, who he noticed within the first week back had been more introspective than he had ever seen her. He hadn't known what the problem was, but decided to wait it out – prying would only lead to bruising on his part, he was sure. When Korra agreed to get lunch the other day, he had taken it as his first sign of victory, but what he just saw made him realize things were worse than he ever thought. Outside of practice, they never used their bending against each other. Even in the gym, never with the intent to hurt, but from yards away Bolin felt the ire in her strike.

Waiting hadn't worked, and now Mako was hurt and Korra angry. Bolin had to come up with another plan; they were the last family he had. Lying back on his bed wearily, he rubbed his eyes with one hand as Pabu slipped down to the crook of his arm. He was sure getting them to talk was out of the question, even if he waited a week for them to cool off. No, that would only give them time to stew over it, making it worse in their heads than it really was. He let his arm flop back onto the thin Air Temple mattress. His bed at the arena had been nicer, a fluffier mattress with a view that even Asami couldn't buy.

Not that Asami wasn't also a problem, albeit a separate one. She had gone all but AWOL since returning to Republic City, spacing out and staying away from the island (and, by extension, them) as much as possible. She hadn't even returned tonight, but Bolin felt sure she was safe, wherever she was, likely in a Sato warehouse or inn. He had sparred with her more than once, and felt some pity for anyone who mistook her for an easy target. He hadn't felt close enough to ask her about it, at first, but after tonight Bolin was beginning to see things differently. Mako, Korra, and Asami were key parts of his life now, and he was coming more and more to the conclusion that a problem with one of them was a problem with all of them.

Pabu was snoring squeakily at his side. Bolin decided he would sleep on it, certain that Korra and Mako's individual pouting would leave them out of the other's paths till at least tomorrow. By then, he resolved, he would have an idea; one that would fix the fraying edges of his family without said edges even being aware of it.

**I don't own LOK or canon would be very different.**

**Please review if you have time, this is the first story I've shared and I'd love feedback.**

**Also, thanks to those who have followed this story, I truly appreciate it!**


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